In Sickness and in Health
by Anonymous Secret
Summary: Soul is seasick... or maybe it's the stomach flu. Whatever it is, Maka has to take care of him, and Soul seems to lose any consciousness of personal space. And we all know Soul is a complete Snuggle Slut XD. So how will Soul thank Maka for taking care of him? Rated T for language (because it's Soul).
1. Get in the Bath

**A/N: Just something I had to get out of my head.**

Maka cautiously walked into the dimly lit room. "Soul?" she whispered. "I brought the medicine you asked for."

A lump under a heap of blankets across the room stirred with a muffled groan.

Maka walked over to her partner. Kid had invited them on his yacht – though apparently Soul was prone to sea sickness.

Maka gently unwrapped her partner from the layers of plush. Soul's skin, even in the darkness, was sickly pale and beads of sweat covered his barely clothed body. He shivered at the open air, goose bumps swarming over his bare chest and arms.

Maka helped him sit up with a hand placed at the base of his spine. Soul moaned and immediately rested his head on her shoulder. "I feel like shit," he muttered.

Maka turned so that she was facing him, and her weapon was pathetically sprawled across her chest. She brushed the sweat soaked tips of his white hair out of his face, resting her palm on his forehead for a few seconds.

Soul let out a puff of air as her cool touch slightly lessened the nausea.

Hands working behind his back, Maka unscrewed the bottle of anti-nausea medicine and tipped out two small pills. The other flipped open the cap of their water bottle.

"Here," she said, pushing him back so she could hand him the medicine.

The movement made Soul lurch. He turned away, gagging over the side of his bed. Maka caught him with her hand lightly around his waist before he could teeter off the mattress. Soul folded over her arm like a paper-doll, teeth ground hard together as he tried to keep his lunch down.

_Slowly_, this time, Maka pulled him back upright.

Soul licked his lips and swallowed thickly. His eyes half lidded, he stared at his meister in agony. "Maaakkkaaaa," he whined. "Get me off of this thing pleeeaaasseee."

His breath hitched in his throat, looking like he was gonna heave again, but stopped and removed his hand from his mouth.

"Soul, the medicine will help," Maka said softly, reaching around to rub her partner's back.

"Maka, I swear if I drink that water it will come right back up – all over you," Soul croaked. He started to melt against her as Maka's hands rubbed soothing circles across his back.

Maka's fingers continued to press lightly into her partner's toned back muscles, softly cooing as she did. "It will be alright, Soul," she said. "Just a few more hours."

"Hours?" Soul choked. "Oh man I don't think I can last that long. Imma fucking die." He buried his face in the crook of Maka's neck. "So uncool."

Then Soul suddenly scrambled out of his partner's warm embrace, trying to make a mad dash for the bathroom. But he soon found that weakness plagued his limbs and went crashing to the floor – embarrassingly so.

He moaned a flurry of cuss words into the wood floor.

"Soul!" Maka ran over to him, both hands on either shoulder. "Oh my god are you okay?"

Soul was about to answer when he felt the reason for getting up so quickly nudge the back of his throat. He clamped one hand over his mouth while the other held him up on his hands and knees.

Maka crawled over to her partner's side and resumed her comforting back rubs. Soul spasmed under her hand, making awful gagging noises as he tried to hold back whatever was trying to come out.

"Soul," Maka said as he refused to be sick, "…what are you doing?"

Soul couldn't speak but managed to shake his head 'no' he was not going to puke all over the floor.

But he was losing the fight.

Maka's eyebrows kitted together and she tugged at Soul's arm. "Soul, it's okay I don't mind cleaning up," she said. "Don't you think it'd be easier to just get it over with?"

Soul finally gave up and released his hold on his mouth. A stream of bile followed, splattering onto the wooden floor. Maka jumped slightly, skittering out of the way, but keeping her hand on Soul's back.

Soul continued to retch, back arching inward as he heaved. He choked and sputtered and looked extremely miserable to the point of crying.

When he was finished he slumped back on his knees, moaning loudly in frustration and discomfort. "Sorry," he said. "That wasn't cool."

Maka stood and ruffled his hair. "C'mon," she held out her hand.

Soul threw his arm over his eyes as he leaned back against the bed. The smell was going to make him vomit again. "Where."

"I'm making you a bath," she said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Soul opened one eye. "What."

"A bath."

"Yeah I heard you."

"So what's the problem?" Maka's hands went to her hips.

Soul thought for a moment, and decided not to delve into the bag of worms. "Ok, cool."

He let Maka drape his arm over her shoulders and drag him to the bathroom. He felt so weak, so much so that he also let his partner undress him and help him into the soothing water.

A small sigh escaped his lips as he settled into the water.

"Better?" Maka asked.

"I still feel like shit," he grumbled. "But… yeah. Better. Thanks, Maka."

She smiled before turning to leave. "No problem."

"Hey where are you going?" Soul asked. He mentally smacked himself for sounding so desperate and needy.

"To clean up your mess," Maka said with a chuckle. "I'll be back if you want."

Soul fought back the blush on his cheeks. She was his meister, and she was taking care of him, vomit and all. Soul smiled and closed his eyes. "Cool."

**On to the next chapter!**


	2. Back Rubs and Crackers

**I didn't realize how good of a reaction I would get with the first part! Thanks so much guys!**

**Shout outs to all my first reviewers: Professer Maka (seriously she's my sempai that will never notice me), bluehedgehog (your review made my ****_year,_**** LunarSparks, .50, and spamcakes.**

Soul shuffled out of his bath in his old white bathrobe, looking like a disheveled hobo. Maka kept one hand on his wrist in fear that he might tip over.

"You should go," he mumbled. "Don't need to take care of me I'm fine."

"Soul, you are not fine," she said, using her voice she saved for when he was being especially dense. "I had to stay with you _while you were in the bathtub _because you looked like you might drown in _two feet of water_. And there are certain things I can't _unsee_." She helped him sit on his bed, pulling the sides of his robe tighter around his chest like a doting mother. Ugh. Embarrassing.

"Maaakkaaa," Soul whined. "I'm not a baby!"

"Well you're sick," Maka brushed pale hairs out of her weapon's face, "might as well be the same thing."

Soul pouted but was extremely grateful to his caring meister when she rested her hand on his forehead again. For some reason her touch lessened the sickness.

His face relaxed a bit, wrinkles disappearing from his brow line.

Then she was crawling on the bed with him, scuttling to his backside. Her knobby legs sprawled out on either side of him.

"Uhm… what are you doing?"

"Shut up." Maka's gentle hands began to kneed deep into Soul's shoulders, somehow knowing exactly where to press. Knots slowly unraveled and muscles sore from training began to relax.

Soul shuddered. "Oh _fuck_, Maka," he moaned. He couldn't help but wilt until his elbows rested on his thighs.

His meister continued her massage, gradually moving down to work at that one spot under his shoulder blades that always got sore. Her touch was firm, but not so hard that it hurt. Actually, it did hurt, but it _felt so good_.

For a brief moment Soul forgot about the sea-sickness. All he thought about was Maka's hands working _absolute magic_ on his back. His eyelids fluttered shut and he let out a very 'un-cool' whimper, at which Maka only chuckled.

"I'll be right back, mm kay?" she said, hands dispelling into air.

"Noo, Maaakkaaa," Soul whined – again in a very 'un-cool' way. He couldn't help it, he _needed _this massage. Like seriously. She was working some sort of witchcraft fuckery amazingness.

"I said I'll be right back," Maka said, giving him an embarrassing rub on the cheek. "I'm gonna get some food. Want anything?"

Soul just burrowed under his covers like a depressed gopher. He mumbled something into the sheets – which most likely translated to 'no.'

"Try to take deep breaths," she said before exiting the room, "it helps sometimes."

With Maka's absence Soul felt his stomach lurch again. He groaned, curling into himself under the clammy blankets. His stomach gurgled as the boat lurched. Jesus Christ he was gonna die on this godforsaken boat.

Maka came back after what seemed like an eternity. She was munching all too cheerfully on something crunchy. "Here." She nudged him. "Saltines."

Soul poked his head out from under the covers and gave the crackers a long stare. He seemed to pale at the thought of keeping it down, and then turned away, retreating into his cave.

"C'mon, Soul." Maka sat on the bed. "Just try to eat one. It might help."

"No."

"Just try," Maka poked him.

"No."

"Please?"

Fuck. She said please. And Soul knew the plead was probably paired with that face she always made – the face that _killed _him, the one that once drove him to wear one of her ugly holiday sweaters with a shark on it that said 'merry-sharkmas.'

Soul miserably crawled out of the blankets and took a cracker. It was like cardboard on his tongue and he practically heaved before he hand a chance to swallow. When he felt it hit the base of his stomach he moaned and buried his face into his pillow.

Maka stroked through his pale hair.

"You suck," he mumbled. Soul turned around and nuzzled his face into the side of her thigh.

Maka lightly patted her partner's head. "I can go if you want, give you some time alone."

"No!" Soul's had shot out and caught her by the wrist. Somehow he managed to wrestle her down on the bed next to him, despite his shakiness.

"Soul!" Maka squeaked.

Soul wrapped his arms tightly around his meister, making little moans and groans as he did.

"Soul, what are you doing?" Maka protested as she was smothered in the blankets.

"Maka, I'm fucking dying," Soul grunted. "You need to stay. Aren't you supposed to take care of me or some shit?

"I _need _to stay?" Maka turned so she was facing him.

Soul nosed his face against her chest. Awkward. But Maka decided to ignore the breaching of personal boundaries. Soul was her partner, right? She'd already seen… ahem… things. More importantly, she cared about him – so much. And she hated seeing him suffer.

So Maka sighed and wrapped her arms around Soul's shoulders. At this, Soul straightened his legs a bit so Maka could hold him closer.

Maka giggled softly, flattered by her weapon's rare display of such affection. "Feel better?" she asked.

"Mm. A little. Just don't move. Or leave. And don't ever tell fucking anyone or I'll… I'll…" Soul's voice caught in his throat at a particularly strong wave of nausea. "Uh whatever. But we never speak of this or I will 'Soul Chop' you."

Maka lightly pet the back of her partner's head. "Kay."

"And don't be upset if I puke on you," he slurred. "Cause this is totally asking for it." He grimaced, swallowing thickly and taking deep breaths – just like Maka told him to do. "And there's a good chance that it will happen."

Maka hugged her partner closer. "Okay."

**A/N: Next chapter will be a different scenario... either Maka gets her period at a VERY inconvenient time OR uhm... idk what else. Any ideas? I'm more than willing to take promtps!**

P.S. The reference about the ugly shark sweater came from Kribart's livestream drawing I saw yesterday while writing this lol...


	3. Snuggle Slut

**As suggested by a reviewer, this plot will continue as is. Maka's period issues are published in another story.**

**Thank you to spamcakes and bluehedgehogs for reviewing!**

**NinjaQueen33 - I actually did do that! It's in my other story - Maka's Accident.**

Maka returned to her room from the deck party. Her maroon dress swished softly around her thin waist and black heels clicked on the hardwood floor.

"Hey, Soul," she said cheerfully, "How are you feeling?"

To her utter shock, Soul was crawling around their room like some sort of deranged turtle. He madly clambered at their clothes stuffed in drawers and shoved them into open suitcases. Though, he was obviously still feeling pretty crappy, so he was moving extremely slowly and shaking like crazy.

He looked ridiculous.

"What are you doing?" Maka exclaimed.

"We need to… ugghhhrnghfhfg," Soul fell to his elbows for a few seconds, gagging slightly. He clamped a hand over his mouth and curled inward, head pressed against the floor.

Maka knelt down and rubbed her partner's back – which was still shirtless. "Breathe," she said softly. "It helps, remember?"

Soul groaned, but took a strangled breath through his nose.

"Better?" Maka asked.

Soul nodded and resumed his crawl. "Get me off this fucking boat!" he growled – though he hardly looked threatening with the way he was shaking.

Maka laughed nervously. "Uhm… then you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you."

Soul's shoulders hunched as he hung his head, waiting for Maka to continue.

"Urm… so the cruise is taking a detour to Italy, so we're gonna be on this boat for another three days, maybe more."

Soul gawked at her.

Maka fidgeted with her bracelets. "Uhm, sorry…?

After a few more seconds of staring, Soul collapsed onto the floor. "No, no, _no_! Are you fucking kidding? If I have to stay on this boat for another hour I'm going to jump off the edge. I am not joking when I saw I will _swim _to land. I'll do it, Maka. I will."

Maka stroked his messy white hair. "I'm sorry, Soul, but Kid _really _wants to see Rome. You know how much he loves ancient history."

Still on the floor, Soul rolled onto his back. "_Please _get me off this boat, Maka." He looked at his meister with his most desperate face he could muster, sacrificing all of his 'coolness' in the hopes that Maka would understand how shitty he felt. "Pleeeeaaaaaasssseeeeee."

Yeah, that definitely did it. Maka chewed on her bottom lip eventually said, "…okay. We're stopping in Maine in about half an hour so I guess we can get off there."

Soul practically tackled his meister, despite his seemingly permanent queasiness.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou," Soul said, hugging Maka like she was his lifeline. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou, you are the coolest partner ever."

Maka giggled, gently untangling herself from her partner. "I'm going to change, okay? Then I'll tell Kid we're leaving."

Soul sighed and lay on his back. "Cool."

Thirty minutes later Maka was dragging Soul onto the dock, arm draped over her shoulder. When they hit solid ground Soul sighed heavily and kissed the floor.

Eew. Gross.

"Oh thank Death," Soul murmured. A pause, then, "… why do I still feel like shit?"

Maka shrugged, lugging their suitcases all by herself. "You _just _got off the boat. I'm sure you'll feel better in a few minutes.

Soul nodded, shakily standing and following his meister to call a taxi.

Their plane back to Death City wouldn't fly until tomorrow, so they would be staying at a motel for a night.

There was something inside of Soul that felt… a little concerned about the motel situation. Within the past day, Maka had undressed him, stayed with him while he bathed, redressed him, given him a back massage in his robe, and snuggled with him in his bed until he feel asleep.

It had sparked something inside of him, something weird and scary and not at all something he wanted to deal with. Maka was his meister, so of course he loved her. But did he love her in a different way too?

And why did he seem to have an obsession with… with so much damn physical touch when he was sick?

Whatever. It wasn't cool to dwell on unrequited love – or his bizarre snuggle issues.

In the taxi, Soul was having an extremely difficult time keeping his stomach contents inside.

"Maakkkaaa," he moaned. "I still don't feel better."

"Maybe you're motion sick," she offered. "Lie down when we get to the motel, you'll probably feel better."

Soul's head thunked against Maka's shoulder. "Uuuuuuunnnnnrrrgghhhh, how long until we get to the motel?" He nuzzled against the crook of her neck, nose breathing in her scent.

"Two minutes," Maka said, patting her weapon's fluffy hair. "Hang in there, Soul."

Soul's mouth watered all the way to the lobby, up the elevator, and through the too long hallways. When Maka finally figured out the card key he flew into the bathroom. Bony knees hit the floor as he crouched over the toilet, vomiting noisily.

Maka hurried into the small bathroom after her partner.

The toilet flushed and Soul dragged his hands down his face.

Maka helped him to his bed, carrying his deadweight until he was seated on the mattress. She was already dressed down to her sleep clothes.

"Arms up," she instructed.

Soul obeyed, cheeks turning pink when his meister lifted his shirt over his head.

And then his sickness induced snuggle issues kicked in – as weird as that sounded.

Maka squawked when Soul pulled her down with him as he burrowed under the covers.

"Stop fidgeting!" Soul grunted, trying to get her to calm down.

"Well you're smothering me!" Maka argued. "And you do know there are two beds in the room, right?"

Soul's arms slid over her shoulders, linking together on her stomach. His nose buried in her ash blonde hair and his bare chest pressed against her back.

"But this makes me feel better," he murmured into her hair.

"Last time you kicked me in your sleep," Maka protested.

"Maka, pleeaaassseee," Soul whined.

"You are such a baby!"

"Makkkaaa!"

Maka sighed. It _did _feel nice to have her weapon so close. He was warm and his strong chest was comforting against her back. The only problem was that it was seriously compromising her composure. He couldn't see because she was turned away, but Maka's face was flushed red.

But she could actually _feel _Soul's stomach gurgle. Poor guy. He'd been suffering for the past day, agonizing, queasy suffering.

"Okay," she gave in. "But don't you dare drool on in my hair."

"Drool might not be the right word," Soul muttered. "Though I still feel like fucking shit so 'vomit' is a bigger possibility."

Maka made a frustrated grunt. "Just go to sleep."

A few moments of silence, then, "Hey, Maka?"

"Yeah?"

Soul hugged her tighter. "Thanks for taking care of me, you really are the coolest partner ever."

**Suggestions? Anything you'd like to see? I'd love to hear your ideas!**


	4. Airplanes Suck

**This is going to be a short chapter, guys. I'll try to update soon.**

**Enjoy!**

**Thankyouthankyouthankyou to all of my reviewers and followers! Two nights ago I woke up to 26 FREAKING FANFICTION NOTIFICATIONS omg you guys are awesome!**

Maka sighed and settled down into her seat. Soul was out of commission so she'd had to muscle their suitcases into the overhead compartments herself.

The flight attendants droned on about safety protocols, but Maka was more worried about Soul.

Turns out, Soul actually had the stomach flu. Or maybe he had gotten sick after the cruise. Maybe it was a combination of seasickness and the flu. The vomiting had stopped – thank the fucking lord – but he had soon after developed a nasty fever and cold.

Well whatever it was, it was making her poor partner suffer to no end.

"Hey, Maka," Soul sniffed. "This is gonna be a quick flight, right?"

Maka's eyebrow quirked. "We're flying across the country. It's six hours."

Soul looked like he was gonna cry.

He flipped out the small table in front of him and banged his head on the thin plastic. "Shoot me," he groaned.

Maka rubbed his back, hand moving up to comb through his fluffy mane. "Sorry, Soul. Is there anything I can do?"

Soul banged his head on the table again and turned to look up at his partner. His nose was red and it seemed that goose pumps stuck permanently to his paler skin. "Shoot me," he repeated.

Maka ruffled his fluffy hair.

"Try to sleep," she said guiding his head into her lap.

Soul tucked his knees in, curling up on the seats like an armadillo.

Maka opened a book, hand absent mindedly stroking through Soul's hair. He was warm, sporting a fever nasty enough to deplete him of his 'coolness.'

She didn't care, though.

No matter how gross things got, or how needy or snuggle-hungry he was, she'd always be there for him. It wasn't a hard decision for her to make. She loved him, maybe in more ways than one.

In sickness and in health she'd stay with him forever, just as she knew he would for her – which, in retrospect was probably a good thing. Maka would probably catch whatever bug he had for spending so much time with him.

…the price of being a caring meister.

Every so often he'd move, snuggling closer against her thighs. Why did he suddenly lose all any sense of personal space when he was sick? He seemed to need physical touch more than medicine.

Maka didn't care though, it was endearing.

When he sleepily reached up to hold Maka's arm like a Teddy Bear, she smiled down at him. Something grew in her chest, something that felt a lot like love deeper than a partnership.

Maka bent down and pressed a light kiss against the side of his face.

**Sorry this was so short... I'm on vacay in Hawaii so updates might be a little slow.**

**Maka's Accident will be updated soon I promise!**


	5. Airports Suck Even More

**Reviewer Notes:**

**spamcakes - thanks for all the reviews! Seriously, ever chapter! You're awesome!**

**bluehedgehogs - you're awesome too!**

**0Innuendos0 - i'm doing my best, glad you're enjoying it!**

**Digi-fanCapp - yes, i've always imagined Soul was the type to need a lot of cuddle time when he was sick. and puppy!Soul is the cutest!**

**Darkverger1 - hey, nice to see you again since my Fairy Tail fanfic XD**

**roro213421 - noted ;)**

**Doro-chan - why thank you :D**

**Professor Maka - *squeals because her sempai has briefly noticed her***

Oh crap. Soul was going to lose it if their luck didn't change soon.

Everything had gone smoothly until now. Their landing was fine, they got their suitcases out easily, and Soul managed to sleep through most of the flight.

But ten minutes after they landed a storm from the depths of hell bombarded the airport – which meant they were stranded in that godforsaken place for who knows how long.

Soul sniffled, rubbing his already red nose with his jacket sleeve. He had to keep his mouth open in order to breathe, and a nasty headache was killing him.

He and Maka were camped out in a corner, leaning against one of the large glass windows that looked out to the aircrafts. Maka bought small pillows from the shops and wrestled a blanket out of her suitcase.

Soul's head rested on Maka's shoulder as she read, swaddled in the blanket like a miserable burrito.

"URghfhgn," he groaned. "Maka, I feel like shit."

"Yeah I know, Soul." She turned a page. "Sorry, I don't really know what else to do."

Soul sneezed, jumping away from his meister to spare her the disgust. He felt snot drip down his upper lip, but was too tired to do anything about it. Soul closed his eyes and nestled in against Maka's neck again. Whatever. He already felt gross anyway.

He heard Maka sigh, followed by a something soft wiping under his nose. Soul's eyes cracked open as Maka continued to wipe at his face with a tissue.

"What would you do without me," she said with a soft sigh.

Probably drive himself into a hole of self-despair and madness and pass out on the streets because he was too sick and too sick because he was too stupid to take care of himself and…

Eyes closed again.

Maka's hand came to rest on his forehead. "Jeez you're hot."

Soul found the energy to smirk at the comment.

"Idiot," Maka muttered. "Didn't mean it like that."

Soul coughed, throat raw and thick. When he felt his meister pushing him off her shoulder he whined.

"Calm down, I'll be right back," Maka said.

Soul waited – painfully. Fuck his head was killing him and if he couldn't breathe in the next few hours he would cut off his own nose.

And yet, the wait was well worth it, because his meister was a goddess. She returned to him with a handful of over-the-counter pills, tissues galore, and a wet washcloth that looked like heaven.

After taking the medication she instructed Soul to lie down, guiding his head to her lap. The blanket was draped over him and the box of tissues placed at his side.

"We're probably gonna be stuck here for a while," Maka said, "might as well get comfortable."

"Right," Soul wheezed. The new position made his breathing worse – if even possible. But the medicine was already working through his system, and even more effective was the cold washcloth that Maka dabbed on his face.

Soul sighed deeply. The washcloth started at his forehead, bringing a chilly comfort to his throbbing headache as Maka slowly moved it down to his cheeks and then his jawline.

"Thanks, Maka," he said thickly.

"No problem," she said. "Is there anything else I can do?"

Soul shuddered when the cooling washcloth sent shivers – good shivers – down his spine. "For the love of death don't stop doing that."

She laughed softly. "Sure."

"… Hey, Maka?"

"Yeah?"

Soul opened his eyes to a half-lid. Maka smiled down at him, green eyes shining and blonde hair veiling her face like a halo.

She looked… well, she looked beautiful.

Soul ignored the feeling and said "I know I said this already, and it's so not cool to be all sappy like this, but thanks for taking care of me."

Maka beamed. "Of course, Soul. You're my weapon, that's my job."'

Soul's face fell a bit. "Oh. Right."

"_And_," Maka poked him, "I care about you… a lot."

Soul couldn't help but feel flattered at the blush on her cheeks. "Oh yeah?"

Maka swallowed and a hand came up to touch her burning face. "Mm hm."

Soul smirked, hand reaching up to cover hers. "Guess I care about you too."

"_Guess_?" Maka's eyebrows narrowed.

Soul coughed, partly because of the annoying throat tickle but mostly because he needed a distraction. Oh hell… she'd already seen him naked, and he'd basically snuggle-raped her – if that was possible.

Might as well just say it. "Maka, I love you."

Her face went scarlet. "What?"

Ugh. That nerd. Soul knew she heard what he'd said, she was just too scared to admit anything to herself.

He was scared to – which is why he closed his eyes after he said it, and pretended to fall asleep.

"Hey, Soul?" Maka nudged him. "What did you just say?"

Soul kept his eyes shut, determined to maintain his bashful masquerade.

**Ideas? Suggestions? Requests?**

**As of now I think I might end it after one more chapter - Soul is better and takes Maka out to lunch to say 'thank you' or something, but again I'm totally open to ideas!**


	6. Author UpdateNoteDon't Kill Me

**Hi guys! So I know I haven't updated in a while. I'm sooooo sorry I know a lot of you are waiting for a chapter update and probably feel like stabbing me in the face for this lame update... I'm sorry. Please don't stab me in the face.**

**Annnnyyyway... A chapter update should happen AT LEAST by sunday. I promise.**

**And while we're at it, any suggestions? Anything you want to see? Any prompts you want me to do with a short drabble?**

**Thanks for following and favoriting and all that shit you guys make the little introverted me happy ;D**

**-Anonymous Secret (Meister Kasper on Tumblr)**


	7. Dork

**Sorry sorry sorry I know this is short again. I guess that's my thing...? But this chapter just felt like it needed to end where it did... so that's what happened.**

**Yeah... Thank you, my faithful followers!**

What a giant dork.

Maka quickly shook her head, trying to dispel the massive blush that'd come across her face. Her partner – her stupid, stupid, dorky as hell partner – had said "I love you," and then promptly shut his eyes to pretend he was sleeping.

That _dork_.

Maka continued combing through his hair as he "slept." She had to smother a giggle when she saw that his cheeks held a similar blush.

_Not so cool now, eh Soul Eater?_

Over those past few days, she'd experienced a very different Soul Eater Evans. Sure, he was always snuggle-hungry, though he'd never admit it. But this time, with his walls smashed down from sickness, he seemed to really want her… he _craved _her, as if their snuggle time was like an addictive drug.

Though, Maka had to admit. It did feel good, having her hands run easily through his now smoothed hair. And he looked so peaceful. Even with that stupid blush on his cheeks, and the way his breath caught in his throat when her fingers massaged his temples.

"Hey, Soul," she said into the air. "I know you're _sleeping_, but I'm just gonna talk anyway."

Lies. Lies, lies, lies. She knew he was awake – and wide awake now that she was speaking.

"I'm really glad I could make you feel better," she continued, "or at least try to make you feel better. I'm sorry our trip wasn't that fun for you, but I really enjoyed spending so much time with you."

Soul's blush deepened.

"And I know I'm being really un-cool right now," Maka went on, "but I want you to know that I'll always take care of you. Or whatever you need. I'll just… I'll always… I'll always be there for you."

Her fingers inched down to brush over his hand resting on his stomach. "And not just because you're your meister." Fingers effortlessly interlaced.

Oh god Soul was going to blow his cover. Her hand was so warm against his icy skin. He wasn't sure if he'd accidentally let his fingers twitch.

Thank the fucking lord he had enough sense in his stupid 12 year old head to say yes when she'd come to his mansion that night. If they hadn't become partners, who knows where Soul would be.

Maka was the reason Soul found his courage, the reason he started to believe in himself… and _love _himself, because he loved her.

When she squeezed his fingers she said to him, "I love you too, Soul," and his heart almost exploded.

She said it. She really said it.

Ah, fuck it.

Soul's fingers tightened as well, and the corner of his lip curled up into the tiniest smirk.

"Tch. Now go to sleep," Maka chuckled.

**Next chapter will be the last!**

**But stay tuned for a Soma-Snuggle One shot collection!**


	8. Love Scones

**It's the last chapter! Enjoy! (and I don't have any beta readers so I apologize if anything is OOC or stuff like that).**

"Soul, we're supposed to be in class today!" Maka protested as her weapon dragged her through Death City. "We already missed a week!"

"Just _come on_," Soul groaned.

Maka pouted, but let him lead her through the ambling crowds. He had started to feel better a few days after they _finally _got home. Hadn't said much to her either now that his self-consciousness was back since he wasn't hopped up on cold medication 24/7.

"At least tell me where we're going," Maka grumbled.

A small bell rang as Soul swung open a coffee shop door. "Lunch," he said simply.

"We have food at home."

"Yeah." He walked inside.

Maka watched him skeptically, never took her eyes off him as he bought two donuts for himself and a scone for her. They sat in the farthest table from the windows.

"I still don't understand this," Maka said as they sat down.

Soul dragged his hands down his face. "Jeez, Maka I'm just trying to thank you why do you have to be so difficult all the time?"

Maka's eyes widened a bit – partly because there was actually a slight _blush _on his cheeks when her feet accidently brushed by his leg under the table.

"Uhm. Ok." Maka broke off a piece of her scone. "You're welcome I guess."

Soul fidgeted in his chair, tugging at his collar. "Right." He promptly stuffed a donut in his face, chewing loudly and awkwardly in uncomfortableness.

"So…" He wiped crumbs off his mouth. "About what I said at the airport…"

Bingo. That's what all of this was about.

Maka hid a giggle. "What about it?"

Soul bit his lip, unable to form words. Without sacrificing too much of his coolness, how could he say _'I've wanted to say that since we got back from the moon because god Maka I care so freaking much for you and I never want you to be sad or hurt or anything and I practically cried when you said you loved me too but now I don't know what to say because what even are we and I don't want to fuck things up like I always do but fuck you're so beautiful and and and…'_

"Uhm. Nevermind."

Yeah. Perfect. Just ignore the whole thing.

'_But jesus fuck, Maka, you're literally the reason I started to love myself again and the reason I want to be stronger and braver and just a better fucking person who doesn't screw up all the time and I FUCKING LOVE YOU goddamnit.'_

Maka's eyebrow arched. "Really?"

Soul rested his elbows on the table, leaning into his hands. "Yeah. Forget about it."

Ugh. Annoying. "No really," she poked his arm. "What is it?"

"It's nothing."

"…Soul, why aren't you telling me something?" Maka mirrored his posture, resting her chin on her hands.

Soul peeked up at his meister.

Green eyes met red. Maka smiled sweetly. "I love you."

The words would've been – _should've _been – harder to say. But with her weapon peering up at her through messy bangs and nervous fingers splayed across his face like a timid child, it was pretty easy.

Soul's face went bright red. "Hm?"

"I love you," Maka repeated. "Isn't that what you were going to talk about?"

"Uh… well yeah but…" Soul bit his lip, sitting back in his chair. "I didn't mean to… I just… I'm sorry that I…"

Maka gawked at him. "You're _sorry_?"

Soul groaned loudly. "Ah I don't know. I just don't want to screw things up between us I guess. Shouldn't have said it. It complicates things, doesn't it?"

Maka's gaze softened. "Soul, nothing's going to change. Not if you don't want it too."

"…really?"

"Mmhm." Maka nodded enthusiastically. "We don't need labels or anything. All that matters is we care about each other, right?"

Soul turned away, cheeks on fire. "Cool," he mumbled. And then, like a bashful preteen, he muttered into his hands "love ya too."

Maka felt something swell in her chest.

Soul. Her dorky little weapon was practically having a meltdown in this coffee shop because he was struggling to say 'I love you' again like he had at the airport. But really, she knew he loved her. They were partners, what more did she need to say?

They loved each other. They always would, even when they screamed and cried and fought. Be it romantic or platonic, it was true either way.

Something gurgled in Maka's stomach.

Damnit.

She ran a hand across her stomach, willing it to be nothing. It was just digestion… right?

But then it was like someone had spun her in a hundred circles and something was beginning to rise in the back of her throat. That damn scone. Fuck that scone. She hated scones now.

Trying to be discrete, she brushed her other hand over her mouth.

"…are you okay?"

Damn that observant little piece of shit.

"Mmmhmm." Maka nodded quickly. She pushed her plate away. "I think I'm done. Thanks for the snack."

"Really?" Soul asked. "Cuz you don't look too good."

She didn't _feel _good either. She felt awful.

Maka swallowed the saliva that was beginning to build in her mouth. Not a good sign. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. Deep breaths. Calm down. Breathe.

Too late.

With nowhere to go Maka lurched to the side and promptly vomited on the coffee shop floor.

Soul cursed and rushed over to her side, chair clattering to the ground.

Maka's eyes watered as her stomach forced up another bout of _eew._ She had both hands curled around her messy stomach, hunched over and barely still on her chair.

Firm hands massaged her back until she finished.

"Sorry," Soul said with a nervous chuckle. "Guess that's my fault, huh?"

Soul carried Maka out of the coffee shop, briefly apologizing to the disgusted barista.

"Hey," he looked down at his meister cradled in his arms.

Maka groaned and buried her face in his chest. His smell eased the nausea (and since when did his skinny little body _mature _so much?). "What."

"I love you."

***THE END***

**Anything else you guys want to see? I'm totally open for prompts!**


End file.
